SONOMA — Courtney Force has suddenly become one of the most recognizable NHRA drivers, and not just because of her racing bloodlines or recent victories on the Funny Car circuit.

The youngest daughter of NHRA legend John Force and the sport’s reigning rookie of the year, Courtney Force is bringing new attention to the niche sport of drag racing after she posed nude for ESPN The Magazine’s The Body Issue.

The slender but muscular blonde, who is competing at this weekend’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals, was among the eight athletes selected to grace regional covers of the annual edition that came out earlier this month.

Though Force would rather be known for what she’s accomplished on the drag strip — like the win she posted over her father at the New England Nationals last month — she said she has no regrets about shedding her clothes for the cameras.

“I thought it was a great way to show that it takes a lot of hard work in the gym to handle a 10,000 horsepower racecar and keep up with the men,” she said this week.

Feedback about the photos, which were taken near the Mojave Desert and included various racing props, have been positive for the most part, she said.

“I didn’t want to look like a pinup model where I’m posing with a car,” Force said. “I have a lot of pride in what I do, and I don’t want it to be downplayed at all. That’s the cool thing about how the pictures turned out. They weren’t sexy photos, they were bold and strong.

“You want to be taken seriously as an athlete. I actually had a lot of the drivers come up and say, ‘I didn’t know you were that muscular under your fire suit.’ “

Force had the full support of her family, including her father, who posed for the Body Issue himself a few years ago when he was 62 years old and recovering from a gruesome crash that mangled his body.

“It’s my kid, and I’m going to be proud of her as a father,” John Force said in a teleconference with reporters earlier this month. “As an owner, it got us great exposure so far. I think it’s a positive note for NHRA and all the sponsors, and I’m going to stick by her no matter what anybody says.”

In her second season driving a Funny Car, Courtney Force is also making headlines on the track. Besides beating her father in the final in New England, the 25-year-old won the season-opening race at Pomona and is seventh in the Funny Car point standings.

John Force sits fifth in points, with his lone victory of the season coming on Father’s Day after he beat his daughter in a qualifying round.

The family rivalry on the track is something Courtney Force cherishes.

“I grew up dreaming about racing my dad,” said Courtney, who had the seventh-best qualifying time Friday — 4.057 seconds at 314.46 mph. “I couldn’t wait to be out there in a Funny Car competing. I remember the first time I raced him I wasn’t nervous at all. I was like. ‘I don’t care who wins, this is so much fun.’ “

Courtney’s older sister, Ashley, was the first of John Force’s daughters to break into the family business and was the 2007 NHRA rookie of the year. Now a mother of two, she no longer competes.

Brittany Force will also race in Sonoma, though not against her family. The 27-year-old is a rookie in the Top Fuel division.

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